Arts, Culture & History

C. M. Kosemen is an artist and independent researcher born in Ankara, Turkey in 1984. He studied at Cornell University, Istanbul’s Sabancı University and...

İş Sanat has launched its 20th season, with the Borusan Philharmonic, under the baton of Thomas Rösner and featuring the young virtuoso Demirhan Gokbudak,...

In this megacity, which delivers stress in seemingly increasing dosages year by year, I’m realizing that it is essential to wear a different pair...

Mimar Sinan was, without a doubt, the greatest architect of the Ottoman empire. His importance and influence are often compared with his contemporary Michelangelo, and it's an established...

Like many of history’s greatest culinary discoveries, that of coffee stemmed from a noisy, restless goat and his attendant farmer’s desire for an undisturbed...

Certain things that are second nature at home can be a minefield abroad. Etiquette in all of its various forms is especially tricky. Despite...

Türkiye is known for its sigara (cigarette) smoking culture. And while many events have shaped this practice, there is an intriguing tobacco history that...

Tophane is a very pleasant area to spend an afternoon smoking nargile and playing tavla. Or, if you are more into art than the...

It is well known that the Ottoman Empire was a place of incredible cosmopolitanism. What is often overlooked is the existence of “syncretic” peoples,...

Gallery spaces can too often reflect a highbrow approach to art which can be off-putting to the more casual art enthusiast. This is where BLOK...

In November, Yabangee contributor Devanshu Bawa and I were invited to the Indian Diwali Festival that is organized annually by the Friends of India...

Perched on the hill of Çamlıca is a spiritual gem that combines Ottoman and modern architecture, where the breeze carries both the sounds of...

In the final month of 2019, the first Coronavirus case was recorded in Wuhan, China. The pandemic has since spread nearly all over the...

Dayla Rogers continues her conversation with artist and researcher C.M. Kösemen about the Dönme and their history.  You are a person of Dönme background. A...

As you walk down the streets of Istanbul, the air swirls with color and unfamiliar smells. Occasionally, you stop and peer into shop windows,...

Kuzguncuk is a little slip of a neighborhood whose reputation has a surprisingly wide reach. I had not even left dusty Tarsus in Southern...

“They first need to learn Turkish to be better integrated into their Turkish communities -- namely, their schools,” stressed Anna Tuson, the communication manager...

You can walk into any chain bookstore in Istanbul and find stacks of neatly ordered books. Normally, they have the recently published stuff, and...

As a long-time lover of cemeteries, I’m often telling people about my trip to this or that burial ground. Most have one question: “why?”...

“Light is more important than the lantern, The poem more important than the notebook” ― Syrian poet, Nizar Qabbani To the general public, Syria has become...

I remember walking down the large avenues and neatly perpendicular streets of Washington, D.C. not too long ago, longing for old buildings and crooked...

It started as good a time as any – on a dolmuş to Hasankeyif with a crate of live chickens on my lap. I...

I discovered a great passion for cooking when I started traveling around the world. I couldn’t believe what I’d been missing! I wanted to...

Three years ago, Merve Pehlivan, an art and writing enthusiast, decided to create a friendly environment where writers, poets, singers and performers of all...